Children at play
Object Details
- Label
- This small screen is one of a pair that originally depicted children enacting the annual cycle of events of the twelve lunar months. This screen begins with the celebration of the New Year in the first lunar month. Girls play the traditional game of battledore and shuttlecock while boys practice archery. Several other lighthearted childrens' games and competitions, such as kickball and tug-of-war played with pet dogs, are also illustrated. At far left, children participate in the procession of the Aoi Matsuri, the festival of the Kamo Shrines held in Kyoto each year on May 15. The Aoi festival is named for the wild ginger plant (futaba aoi) that decorates houses along the path of the procession. Said to have originated in the seventh century, the parade today features participants dressed in historical costumes of the nobility of the Heian period (794-1185).
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Games, Contests and Artful Play in Japan (March 19 to October 23, 2005)
- Life and Leisure: Everyday Life in Japanese Art (August 14, 2004 to February 20, 2005)
- Japanese Screens (Narrative Subjects) (December 22, 1981 to February 10, 1983)
- A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)
- Harold P. Stern Memorial Exhibition (April 18, 1977 to September 13, 1977)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- 17th century
- Period
- Edo period
- Accession Number
- F1973.11-12
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Ink, color, and gold on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (.11): 40.9 x 200 cm (16 1/8 x 78 3/4 in)
- H x W (.12): 50.8 x 210.4 cm (20 x 82 13/16 in)
- Origin
- Japan
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Topic
- playing
- Edo period (1615 - 1868)
- child
- Japan
- Japanese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1973.11-12
